The Crystal Scale
by Chise
Summary: Will has a son. Lyra has a complex. It's all fun.
1. Default Chapter

Mary Malone was dead James McFarlane Normal James McFarlane 1 0 2001-11-11T05:31:00Z 2001-11-11T05:31:00Z 5 1218 6947 McFarlane Illustration & Design 57 13 8531 9.2511 0 0 

Mary Malone was dead. The coroners report said the death was sudden and in her sleep, this fact did nothing to make Will feel better. He would never see his dear friend again, not in any way. Heaven wasn't real and neither was seeing grandma when you croaked.

The alarm finally went off, Will climbed out of bed in his boxers not bothering to wake his daemon. She would stay asleep until they needed to leave. At the moment Will had more pressing matters, like the pot of coffee he needed so badly. He pulled his robe on against the chill of the morning.

The kitchen was a neat and square with no defined ending and beginnings. It had been the only reason Kara had liked the house.

Will shook his head to clear his thoughts. Soon the coffee maker was gurgling and filling the pot. He started to think about Mary's death. It had been very unexpected. A layer had called him three days ago telling him that he was the only heir to Mary's possessions.

"What am I going to do with all of Mary's things?" Will mumble to him self as watched the coffee pot fill.

"You could start by going through then," His daemon jumped on to the island in front of him, "At least then you keep you mind busy."

"Mmm…" Will answered. Kirjava gave him that 'look', Will changed the subject, "You are coming?"

"Of course," She rubbed her head against his arm, "I'll stay with you as long as you like."

"Only to the end…" Will's voice trailed off.

"Only to the end." Kirjava echoed.

One of the three other cats that lived in the house wandered in for breakfast. He was a large, sleek, orange tabby, with a temper like a wild fire. His name was Iorek. The two other cats where still out.

Will pored himself a cup of coffee. Only till the end…

Lyra was very disturbed. She kept having reoccurring dreams of Will. It's not like she didn't dream of Will, but they were violent and never left her feeling un-balanced.

"Lyra?" Pantalaimon sat on the table in front of her.

"Mmm," she spun the dials on the alethometer making new patterns with the hands.

"You've been practicing for hours, maybe you should stop."

"I can't. Not till I find out if Will is ok."

"Is this because of the dreams you've been having?"

"I guess so. I just need to know he's ok."

"Well," Pan hesitated, "Ok, just take a break soon."

Lyra nodded and continued to study the instrument.

"Lyra!" A tall girl with bright blond hair walked in, "I've been wondering where you had gotten to."

Jovvi was one of Lyra's oldest friends. She had been one of the nicest girls to her when she started at the boarding school.

"I've been working on some problems," Lyra smiled up at her long time friend.

Jovvi plopped down in the chair across from Lyra, her Peacock daemon resting on the floor, "Are you still using that horrible thing?"

Jovvi had never been fond of the alethometer. Lyra knew that it scared her more then anything.

"Yes, Jovvi, and it's not that horrible," As she spoke she rephrased the same question that she had been asking all day, 'How is Will?'

Jovvi brushed off the reply, "Well anyways, I was thinking that we could take a daytrip out to the country side."

"I can't you know that I have to meet with-" Lyra was cut short bye the alethometer. The 'answer' hand was spinning insanely. Lyra's quick eye was the only thing making any sense of the mess of symbols. When the needle like hand stopped swinging Lyra sat back a look of utter shock on her face.

"Lyra dear, what is the matter?"

"The balance between worlds, its dissolving, disaster, the removal of something. It's all muttled together."

"Well I wouldn't believe that thing at all, dear me it seems like such a toy…"

Lyra only listened to Jovvi with half her mind, what was it talking about, what worlds? Which worlds?

Neither Lyra, Jovvi, or either of their daemons noticed the soft glow of and angle as it flew away from the library at Jordan Collage.

Chris grumbled to himself as he rode his skateboard home. His dad had been so out of it lately. Maybe it was because his friend had died? Sure it messed him up but still forgetting to pick his son up from an overnight was getting a little out there. How hard was it to get in the car and drive the two miles that Chris was now boarding.

"Is he ever going to get his act together?"

Chris hit a rock and flew into the air.

"Damn it!"

"What's the matter?" Kirjava looked in Will's face to see a tear dripping down his face.

The service was almost over. Will sat in the back. The last speaker droned out several more words and people began to stand. No one approached will or even noticed him.

"I'll be going now," Kirjava jumped off his shoulder and landed on the ground, "I'll see you tonight."

Will nodded.

He drove passively for about twenty minuets turned off the main high way and made it to Mary's town house. Walking up the front steps made him feel young again. Birds chirped in the trees and played in a birdbath. He unlocked the front door. The entire contents of the apartment was his. But what would he do with it? Mary's things where all very personal.

'Start by going through it…' even when not present his daemon still influenced him.

Mary's house was large with two and a half floors. Eight-foot tall trees sat in huge pots, the tree's with wheels…

"How am I going to get half this stuff out?" Will looked up around the room the huge seed pod trees would be hard enough, but the high bookcases and lamps would add to the challenge.

He picked up a phone directory and the phone he was going to need some help, and a big truck.

Chris sat in front of the computer typing up hacks for breaking Napster, along with think of ways to punish his dad. He could do a pretend re-format. Or he could disconnect the monitor and re-rout thing so that the TV would act like the monitor… His thoughts where interrupted by the sound of huge moving truck pulling up. Chris looked out the window to see his dad and two other people dragging a massive tree up the front steps, by the look of it there could be several more of the huge trees in the truck.

As the door opened Chris greeted his dad with a huge, "What the heck is that?"

"It's one of Mary's things," his dad answered between heaves of the giant plant, "Can you find something to put it on?"

Chris nodded and ran off to his room, only to return with an old skateboard, "This'll work, right?"

"Yeah sure."

His dad and the two other men put the tree down on the board.

"We'll need more things to put the rest of the trees on."

"Well that's my only available board," Chris glared at his father.

"I'm sure we can find more things of some sort…" Chris's dad trailed off.

"Whatever," Chris waved off the suggestion and walked back to the computer.

He didn't notice the black moth perched on his shoulder. It softly took off from its perch and landed on the monitor changing into a ferret.

Chris stopped and looked at the monitor, was there something sitting on it? He shook off the thought and went back to the hacks.

Will got back into his car. A majority of the items in the moving van had been placed in the house. Almost all of Mary's furniture would replace his older, less expensive furniture. Kara would approve of the change. Thought of his family returned to him. The way Chris had looked at him when he had gotten home with the tree had been less then settling.

"I know I'm a bad father but…" Will couldn't think of a but, he was just a bad father, "Damn"

He reached Mary's drive, and stopped the car. He stepped out and wasn't in Mary's drive. He was standing next to a cobble stone street. Vendors had booths on either side of the street. All the people had animals near or on them. Where was he? Will took a few steps down the street. It was real enough. A group of young men passed by him chattering.

"Wasn't it hard?" The first asked

"I would have never been able to do it," a second added.

"Na," the third waved, "Any you' al could have done it."

"I would never get accepted to Jordan," the second replied

"It aint that hard to get in to college just…" the voices trailed off down the street.

Will stood there in shock, "Jordan College?" he had to say it to believe it. Could it be possible? Was he really in this world? Was this Lyra's wor-

Will was standing on the top step of Mary's front porch.

"What the hell was that?" Will opened the front door and walked in closing it behind him.

"Pardon the intrusion," Will almost fell over backwards, in the middle of the room stood an angle.


	2. chap 2

Lyra stared up at the wide sky. Of all the days of her life today had to be the worst. She had woken up after having a nightmare about Will then the alethometer wouldn't answer any of here questions in a way that made sense. Most of the answers had come out sounding like gibberish, stuff about worlds, scales, angels, and death. Lyra had also felt sick. She had seen Will walking down the street looking very confused and when she had gathered her wits enough to go after him he was gone. 

"May be I have a fever," she grumbled to her self. 

"Your just tired..." Pan came up and sat next to Lyra on the roof.

"Whatever..."

"Lyra?" the voice floated up to Lyra and Pan's ears, "Lyra where are you?"

"It's Jovvi," Pan made a face, "Doesn't she get on your nerves?"

"Some times, but she's my friend and I can't let her bad habits come between us."

"I guess she's not that bad..."

"Lyra?" Jovvi appeared in a the window Lyra had used to clime onto the roof, "What are you doing up here? This is no place for a lady."

"I know, I know," Lyra smiled, "I was just thinking about... things."

"Well come inside and think, it's a lot safer."

"Ok," Lyra began to climb through the window; halfway to the pane a wave of nausea caught her.

Soft music filled the room, drifting from the stereo across the room and to Lyra's ears. 'Where am I?' Voices mingled from the next room.

"What do you want?" the voice was rough and hard, like stone.

"We need your help..." the second speaker was quieter with a silvery tone to its voice.

"I don't care, I don't want anything to do with you!"

"But the scale has been tipped," A final plea was sighed, "Only you can do it."

"I CAN'T USE THE KNIF-"

"Lyra dear?" Jovvi's face appeared in front of Lyra's eyes.

"What happened?"

"I really have no idea what you're talking about dear. You look ill, shall I take you to the infirmary?"

"No," Lyra said in a faraway voice, "No Jovvi. I'm fine."

"Well ok, but I'll take you if you don't snap out of it," Jovvi smiled, "Now we have a class to attend, do we not?"

"Yes you're right"

"That's my Lyra." Jovvi took her arm and lead her down the hallway.

"I CAN'T USE THE KNIFE!" Will glared at the angle anger burning in his eyes.

"Yes you can, it's-"

"Don't tell me what I can and can't do," He was breathing hard, "The Knife is broken, the worlds are sealed, and I'm sick of you. GO AWAY!"

"I will leave if you wish it," the shimmering figure turned, "But the worlds will bleed into each other and turn black, only you can tip the scale back, Knife Bearer. The Knife may be broken, but is your spirit?"

"My spirit has died many times over..." Will didn't look at the angle, "Leave."

"As you wish," a shimmer of wings and it was gone.

Will sighed and slumped into the one remaining chair, "Lyra, why do you still haunt me? Why? I hate you. Stay out of my life."

"You don't mean that," Kirjava appeared, "I know you've been missing her..."

"It's not that," Will looked out the window, "It's just that, after Kara died I thought I would die. I missed her so much. It reminds me of how I missed Lyra."

"That makes sense."

"No it doesn't..." will trailed off. Kara had made everything all right. Lyra didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was Kara. Hell he even forgot Lyra for part of his life. But now, to many familiar emotions, and falling into an unknown world for that moment, it just was too much.

"How did she die?" Kirjava knew everything about Will, except for this, the one thing Will kept closer then anything. 

"I never told you did I?"

"No"

"I killed her."


End file.
